The Open Group India Conference in Chennai Monday was well-attended with a lot of interesting topics covering EA and Cloud. The choice of topics and the order of presentation ensured continued interest throughout the day; distinguished speakers across the industry shared their views. The morning session featured speakers covering topics like Global Architecture Trends, EA as a Platform for Connected Governments, Federated Cloud Computing, Information Security, and How Cloud is Transforming Business. There were two tracks post-lunch: one for Cloud and one for EA.

There were two panel discussions. I attended the panel discussion about ‘Should CIOs Manage the Enterprise Architecture Initiative?’. The panelists debated about the pros and cons. One sentiment that emerged was that much depends on the type of organization, the maturity level of the organization and the personality of the CIO. The lively debate touched topics such as permeation of IT across the divisions of enterprise: how IT is no longer an enabler but the critical component for conducting business itself. Thought-provoking discussions ensued on how the role of CIO is continuously changing from managing IT to contributing to business strategy. The moderator threw out an interesting dimension that no longer is the CIO the Chief Information Officer, but increasingly Chief Innovation Officer. This resonated well with the audience and the panelists.

I am glad that my talk on ‘Reorienting EA‘ found a great deal of resonance in some of the earlier presentations. The need to cultivate Symphonic thinking and the ability to see connections was one of the main points of the presentation. The focus was on the pharmaceutical sector and how the flat world trends are influencing the EA. I am enriched by this experience on two counts: By sharing my thoughts with the distinguished audience I have gained deeper appreciation of my topic; and by listening to the great presentations.

The Open Group India Conference is underway this week; it will next travel to Hyderabad (March 9) and Pune (March 11). Join us for best practices and case studies in the areas of Enterprise Architecture, Security, Cloud and Certification, presented by preeminent thought leaders in the industry.